The King’s Speech kept me involved and almost had me wanting to talk for him. Colin Firth has made his place in Cinema history with this role and his role in the film The Single Man.

The plot was somewhat predictible, and the acting was not Oscar caliber, and the cinematography was kind of dark then light.  The CGI was pretty good, but with all of that said, I really enjoyed this film.  Maybe it was because I didn’t have to think too much, just sit back and watch it.

It would be a good addition to your DVD collevtion, just do not expect to watch it more than once or twice. B-

Born May 20, 1908, in Indiana, Pennsylvania, James Maitland Stewart was the son of Elizabeth Ruth (née Jackson) and Alexander Maitland Stewart, who owned a hardware store. James, who was to take over the family business attended Princeton University and was a college friend of Henry Fonda.  The two would be life long friends. 

President Harry S. Truman once stated that “If Bess and I ever had a son, we would have wanted him to be just like Jimmy Stewart.” One of the best loved actors of his generation within the Hollywood community and with his fans, Jimmy Stewart had the guy next door ability to pull you in.  His “Aww shucks” way of life was just that. he wasn’t acting, that WAS Jimmy Stewart.

Some of his romantic liasons early in his career were Ginger Rogers and Norma Shearer.  He remained single until the age of 41, marrying former model Gloria Hatrick McLean (1918-1994) on 9 August 1949. As Stewart loved to recount in self-mockery, “I, I, I pitched the big question to her last night and to my surprise she, she, she said yes!”. Stewart adopted her two sons, Michael and Ronald, and together they had twin daughters, Judy and Kelly, on 7 May 1951. They remained devotedly married until her death on 16 February 1994, due to lung cancer.

Stewart died at the age of 89 on 2 July 1997, at his home in Beverly Hills, of cardiac arrest and a pulmonary embolism following a long illness from respiratory problems. He had also suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. His death came just one day after fellow screen legend and The Big Sleepco-star Robert Mitchum had died of lung cancer and emphysema. Stewart is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

“America lost a national treasure today,” President Bill Clinton said on the day Stewart died. “Jimmy Stewart was a great actor, a gentleman and a patriot.”

An excellent film that was perfectly acted by Brad Pitt, and Casey Affleck, along with an outstanding supporting cast.  Directed masterfully by Andrew Dominick, the cinematography was one of the best in years.

From the opening credits, I loved this film.  The smoothness of the characters, the hold that it takes upon the audience and the flowing landscapes in which it was shot.

Casey Affleck was powerful in the role of Robert Ford.  He presented this character with a realness that is rarely seen on film.  He truly gave a performance of a lifetime.  Brad Pitt as Jesse James was masterful and calculated just as the man he portrayed.  I have said it before, Brad is unfortunately one of the most under-rated actors of our generation and needs to get his due by the Academy.

Not only was this one of my favorite films of 2007, it is alos one of my favorite so far for the decade. A+

The plot and storyline was well written, the screenplay, could have had more depth to it, and the subplots were almost meaningless. The cinematographer was better than most, but still not par excellence as it should have been. 

This film was heralded as the film to beat for Best Picture of the year, unfortunately it did not live up to it’s hype and wasn’t even nominated. A very big disappointment.  D

The movie is based on the Kander and Ebb Broadway musical, Chicago, which was based on the Maurine Watkins play, Chicago, which was in turn based on the stories of two Jazz-era killers, Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner.

The film follows a similar plot to William Wellman’s 1942 film Roxie Hart, starring Ginger Rogers as Roxie and Adolphe Menjou as Billy Flynn. However, the only singing or dancing were performances by Rogers.

The film was to have been the next movie project for legendary stage and film choreographer and director Bob Fosse, who directed and choreographed the original Broadway production. Although he died before the film was made, the influence of his distinctive jazz choreography style can be detected throughout the film. In particular, the parallels to Cabaret are numerous and distinct. He is thanked in the movie’s credits.

Both Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zelwegger are fantastic in this film, Jones went on to win best Supporting Actress Oscar. Amazingly, even though this was a musical, Only one song from the film was nominated for Best Song of the year, however it lost to Eminem’s song “Lose Yourself” from the film 8Mile.

A comeback for the film industry, the Musical was said to be on it’s way back after Chicago’s win and great acceptance, unfortunately though there really has not been any good musicals put to film other than Chicago and Moulin Rouge, since. A

Steve Martin plays the father of 12 children with his wife, played by Bonnie Hunt.  He finally realizes his dream, to coach his alma mater football team, at the same time his wife gets a publishing deal.  12 kids, tow parents, new town, new jobs, new schools…chaos.

A rare comedy for the 2000′s that shows wholesome fun and the emotional side to being a parent, and a kid for that matter.  Steve Martin is perfect as the father and Bonnie Hunt plays very well next to him.  Their children, the oldest played by Piper Perabo, Tom Welling and Hillary Duff are pretty good, but seem a little old.  Piper’s boyfriend, played by Ashton Kutcher is an added distraction that the film really didn’t need.

All in all a delightful film that I have no problem watching over and over again. B

Well sort of.  It wasn’t the biggest draw to theaters in 2006, but it was one of the biggest.  Dakota Fanning is adorable as the young Fern who befriends a young piglet she names Wilbur.  She can talk to him along with all the other farm animals. 

A classic story put into a believable film that will live on for many ages.  Sure to be a classic as it’s Animated forerunner. B-

The songs, are somewhat syrupy sweet and in the worst early 1970′s sort of way, but this is a children’s film and not a film adaptation of a great Broadway musical.  The songs now add that nostalgia that makes this film likable.  The animation is not Disney, but it’s good and believable.  My favorite character is Templeton the Mouse, voiced by Paul Lynde.

 Certainly a classic in animated film history. C+

I absolutely love Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore, they are both outstanding in these two films, as always.  Not a big fan of Cameron Diaz (highly over-rated as an actress) I think someone else could have done a much better believeable job in the role of Natalie.  Bill Murray was exceptional as Bosley, but unfortunately was replaced in the second one by Bernie Mac, as Jimmy Bosley.  His humour grew on me and by the end of the film I had forgotten that Bill Murray had played the role in the first film.

If you like slapstick humore, and great moves by beautiful female detectives then you should love both these films, but to really enjoy either of these movies, go buy the TV show series on DVD, now that was some good TV! C